> On Fri, 22 Feb 2002, Aedan McGhie/Scotland wrote: > > I was toying with putting a better video card in my Linux box since > > the wean finds an 8MB card doesn't play his Windows games smoothly > > enough. > > > > Are there any of Priceless's current offerings I should dodge or will > > any old AGP card be fine. > > Personally, I'd advise against nVidia based cards. I don't like their > binary-only policy as it has inconvenienced me. I have an old TNT card at > home which does me fine, but I can't use its 3D acceleration as nVidia > won't release enough information for XFree86 developers and my setup is > too non-standard for their binary-only drivers (ie I roll my own kernel). > If I try to use their drivers I get all manner of weird behaviour, from > random system-clock jumps (just for a split-second) to hard system > lockups. >
I'd argiue with that, cause, as well as redy binary packages, there is nVidia source code package aviable. Just look to www.nvidia.com. I've GF2MX 400 nVidia video card, and I'm able to use its full 3D acceleration under Linux I'm not using Windows either at home or work, I play games on my Linux ( UT, Q3, and nomber of games from Loki ) and my nVidia GF works just perfect. > I'd go for a Matrox or an ATI (Radeon/Prophet) instead. I've got a mobile > Radeon working on a laptop quite recently, complete with 3D acceleration. > > That said, AFAIK nVidia cards have a slight speed advantage over > competitors (how much depends on the game). So if you're upgrading for > performance reasons, you should look at a recent review in Tom's Hardware > Guide (or equiv) and base your decision on that. Also, check whether > upgrading the graphics card will actually help. Is the CPU maxed out when > the game's running? In complex rendered scenes you may find the CPU speed > (or memory bandwidth) is the limiting factor. You could try overclocking > the CPU / Front-Side-Bus (if your mobo supports it) to see if that helps. > If so then upgrading the Gfx card probably won't help much. > > >From a Linux view-point, if you're running an out-of-the-box distro then > all graphics cards should work (but check the driver status page at > www.xfree86.org first). If you fancy fiddling with the computer (like > compiling your own kernel) then avoid nVidia cards. > > HTH > > Paul. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Paul Millar yo-yo, n. : > Particle Physics Theory Group Something that is occasionally > Department of Physics and Astronomy up but normally down. > University of Glasgow, (see also Computer) > Glasgow G12 8QQ, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Scotland +44 (0)141 330 4717 > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > http://www.lug.org.uk http://www.linuxportal.co.uk > http://www.linuxjob.co.uk http://www.linuxshop.co.uk > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.lug.org.uk http://www.linuxportal.co.uk http://www.linuxjob.co.uk http://www.linuxshop.co.uk --------------------------------------------------------------------
